Humanities, University of Southampton

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Module Co-ordinator: Dr Benjamin Piekut

 The aims of this module are to:

• introduce you to particular aspects of British experimental music growing out of rock, jazz, and classical traditions
• detail specific moments in the history of post-World War II experimental music
• consider ways in which British experimentalism reflects, or is shaped by, larger political and societal concerns
• encourage you to read and listen widely in relation to that repertoire.

 Planned Learning outcomes:

 Knowledge and understanding

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: 

• principal varieties of British experimental music
• principal figures of British experimental music
• the social and political context for the development of British experimental music

Cognitive (thinking) skills

      Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• differentiate between different experimental music traditions
• identify basic formal properties of the music of the leading figures in British experimental music

 Practical, subject-specific skills 

      Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• listen analytically to a range of British experimental music
• associate styles of British experimental music with their larger social contexts

 Key transferable skills

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• demonstrate enhanced skills of aural identification and analysis
• describe British experimental music in terms of stylistic and formal attributes
• write clearly about musical style and experimental music texts

 The lectures and discussion sessions will concentrate particularly on the experimental strains of rock music, free improvisation, and notated music cultures.  We will also examine historical writing that illuminates how these artists conceptualized their musical practices. In addition to discussion of the actual repertoire, the course will consider the social, historical, and cultural contexts out of which the music grew.

Lectures will supply you with models for understanding the relationships between musical style and context; listening assignments will provide further examples of the repertories discussed in class, with additional historical and analytical commentary; listening exams will text your knowledge of the repertoire; the essay will allow you to apply your abstract understanding of the social and historical significance of a range of experimental music styles.

 Teaching methods include

• lectures
• classroom discussion
• small-group blog discussion

Learning activities include

•  individual listening and research

Hartley Library reserves

Hartley Library audio/visual reserves

Module Blackboard site

 Reading List

 Michael Nyman, Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, 1999).

Brian Dennis, ed. The Scratch Orchestra, 1969-74 (Scholar, 1995).

Listening test will ensure knowledge and understanding of principal figures and varieties of British experimental music, as well as the ability to listen analytically and identify formal characteristics of the music. Blog entries and essay will assess knowledge of social context, ability to describe the music, and to write clearly.